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Most Americans eat some kosher food every day, but chances are they’re not aware of it. Take a walk down the aisles of any supermarket and you will see that certification appears on over 60% of America’s produced foods that are certified kosher, from the coveted Oreo to the thirst-quenching Coca-Cola. Over $150 billion of kosher certified products are consumed annually, and spending continues to rise dramatically.

Consumer Kosher

WHAT COULD BE WRONG WITH THE “K”? A number of years ago, an OU-certified company requested authorization to use “Charlie’s Bread Crumbs” in their product. Since a “K” was prominently displayed on the bread crumb label, I called the Charlie company to inquire which rabbi provided their kosher supervision. Mr. Johnson politely advised me that…

Many people believe that all rabbis who provide supervision can be presumed to be equally reliable. This great leap of faith is not rooted in reality nor is it a reasonable assumption to make. We would not entrust our physical well-being to any surgeon who is licensed to perform operations. Why should we entrust our…

I meant to save a bit of the brownie for my husband, but I had eaten the whole thing before I realized. Before I had even eaten breakfast. I tried to rationalize it was okay to give in to my chocolate craving because these were made with black beans and cocoa. Made by Pure Genius—a…

Leo “Zeidi” Bleier, father of the author. Growing up, my father always used to tell me that I had to learn to take care of myself. If I was ever in trouble, he explained, no one would help me. His attitude wasn’t a surprise: my late father survived Dachau. Known to all as Zeidi Leo,…

ON THE NIGHT of October 21, Brooklyn’s Grand Prospect Hall came face to face with a phenomenon it had never seen before: Yid-lock. 2,200 Jewish women from all walks of life streamed into the building for Project Inspire’s Great Big Challah Bake, causing a one-hour bottleneck in the lobby. “Our goal was to create an…

REMA (Y.D. 99:6) writes that if a kezayis of milk fell into sixty k’zeysim of water, and then some of that water fell into a pot of meat, the meat would be permitted. Shach (Y.D. 99:22) quotes Rema in Toras Chatas that in this case, since the milk became batul unintentionally, one may even lichatchila…

In a previous issue of the Daf HaKashrus (Vol. 23, #9, p.41) we explained that Splenda, a mixture of sucralose, dextrose, and maltodextrin, can be added to coffee in a kli sheni on Shabbos based on the principle of ein bishul achar bishul. Sucralose, the actual sweetening agent, is cooked during the manufacturing process. Dextrose…

WHEN I PREPARE NESCAFE INSTANT COFFEE ON SHABBOS, I POUR HOT WATER FROM AN URN DIRECTLY INTO A CUP, AND THEN ADD THE COFFEE. I’VE TAKEN A LIKING TO NESCAFE VANILLA AS WELL AS NESCAFE HAZELNUT. DOES THE PRESENCE OF THE FLAVOR COMPLICATE MATTERS? It is permitted to cook on Shabbos a dry food that,…

The source for the laws pertaining to Yoshon are found in Vayikra (23:9-14). These laws are applicable to the Chamishas HaMinim of barley, oats, rye, spelt and wheat.

These grains are Yoshon if they took root prior to Pesach. If the grains did not take root prior to Pesach then they are chadash until the subsequent Pesach. There is a halachic dispute if the hashrashah (grain taking root) must be 3 days or two weeks prior to Pesach. The laws of chadash do not apply to other grains such as rice, corn and buckwheat.